Judge reverses Trump’s Harvard funding cuts

A United States federal judge in Boston has ordered the Donald Trump administration to reverse more than $2.6 billion in cuts to Harvard University.

Harvard University has been embroiled in a funding row with the US government over the school’s refusal to comply with the president’s demands.

Delivering judgment on Wednesday, Allison Burroughs, US district judge, said the administration’s decision to freeze and later slash Harvard’s federally backed research funding amounted to a politically motivated attack.

She also rejected the government’s claim that the cuts were tied to the university’s handling of antisemitism.

“A review of the administrative record makes it difficult to conclude anything other than that (the government) used antisemitism as a smokescreen for a targeted, ideologically-motivated assault on this country’s premier universities,” Burroughs wrote.

“The country must fight antisemitism, but it also must protect the right to free speech.”

Her ruling restores Harvard’s access to federal funding and bars future cuts that violate the school’s constitutional rights or federal law.

Burroughs agreed with Harvard’s argument that the government retaliated in violation of the first amendment and failed to follow legal procedures under the Higher Education Act.

“As pertains to this case, it is important to recognise and remember that if speech can be curtailed in the name of the Jewish people today, then just as easily the speech of the Jews (and anyone else) can be curtailed when the political winds change direction,” she added.

The ruling comes after months of escalating conflict between the Trump administration and the Ivy League institution.

The Trump administration had sought sweeping changes to the university’s governance, threatened to revoke its tax-exempt status, and even attempted to restrict foreign students from enrolling.

Meanwhile, Liz Huston, the White House spokesperson, confirmed the government will appeal the ruling and labelled Burroughs an “activist Obama-appointed judge”.

“To any fair-minded observer, it is clear that Harvard University failed to protect their students from harassment and allowed discrimination to plague their campus for years,” she said.

“Harvard does not have a constitutional right to taxpayer dollars.”

In a message to the campus community, Alan Garber, Harvard president, hailed the ruling as a validation of academic freedom, though he acknowledged further legal challenges lay ahead.

“Even as we acknowledge the important principles affirmed in today’s ruling, we will continue to assess the implications of the opinion, monitor further legal developments, and be mindful of the changing landscape in which we seek to fulfill our mission,” he said.